Colston Bassett

The Library at Nottingham will prove useful in your research.

Colston Bassett Local History Group, "The Village of Colston Bassett: A Pictorial History", CB History Group, paperback, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0955962905.

• The parish was in the Ratcliffe-on-Trent sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
   
• In a November, 1883, re-organization, the parish was re-assigned to the Bingham sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

• The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Mary.
   
• The church was built on the site of an older church in 1293 by the Abbey of Laund in Leicestershire.
   
• Derek HARPER has a photograph of Saint Mary's Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2014.
   
• In the late 1700s, portions of the church were taken down as the building was deemed too large for its requirements.
   
• Saint Mary's Church is now considered a ruin. The new parish church is Saint John the Devine.
   
• Jonathan THACKER has a photograph of Saint John the Devine on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2016.
   

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1591 and is in good condition.
   
• Evelyn YOUNG made a transcription in full of the parish register covering 1591 to 1925. The web page author does not know where a copy may be found, but an online search will reveal several writings by that author.
   
• The parish was in the #1 deanery of Bingham (the rural deanery of South Bingham).
   
• The Roman Catholics had a church here in 1840.
   
• The Primitive Methodists had a chapel here in 1840.

• The parish was in the Ratcliffe-on-Trent sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
   
• In a November, 1883, re-organization, the parish was re-assigned to the Bingham sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
   
• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
   

Colston Bassett is a village and a parish on the River Smite, 5 miles south of Bingham, 10 miles south-east from Nottingham city and sits on the western edge of the Vale of Belvoir. The parish borders on Leicestershire to the south-east and covers 2,391 acres. The Grantham Canal passes to the south of the parish.

If you are planning a visit:

• The nearest rail service appears to be at Bingham. However there is no public transport from Bingham to Colston Bassett.
   
• By automobile, take the A46 and turn east at the signpost for Cotgrave (you'll be going the other way), and watch for the Colston Bassett sign.
   
• Bus service is infrequent but available from Nottingham and Bingham.
   
• Wikipedia reports: "Colston Bassett has weekday, daytime bus services to Radcliffe on Trent and Nottingham."
   
• The village is noted for its Stilton Cheese.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Village Sign for you on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2014.
   
• Tim GLOVER has a photograph of the River Smite on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2003.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the ancient Village Cross on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2012 These were frequently erected near the village green and often served as a "preaching cross" for those who wished to provide their own interpretation of the Bible.
   

• Geograph
• Flickr

• We have an extract from White's 1853 Directory relating to this parish.
   

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Colston Bassett to another place.

We find this entry in the 1861 census: RG 9 / 2483, pg 14, Shelton, Notts: Thomas TOWE, male, age 63, married, born 1798, Colston Bassett, Notts; Head, Ag. Lab., wife, Sarah TOWE, 64, born Barnby, NTT.

• The village feast is on Whit Sunday (late May).
   
• In 1604 a terrible plague visited the village.
   
• Colston Bassett was the residence of Colonel Francis Hacker II, a staunch Parliamentarian in the Civil War of the mid 17th century, who made arrangements for the execution of King Charles I. The Colonel was born in Stathern, Leicestershire in 1618.
   
• The old cross in the village was rebuilt in 1831.
   
• The village dairy, which opened in 1913, is one of only five that are permitted to name their blue cheese Stilton cheese. It also manufactures smaller quantities of White Stilton and Shropshire Blue.
   
• Andrew TATLOW has a photograph of the Colston Bassett Dairy on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2017.
   
• Kate JEWELL has a photograph of Martin's Arms Inn on School Lane on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2010. The Inn was built in the early 1700s.

• Colston Hall was the seat of Robert Millington KNOWLES, lord of the manor, in 1869 and 1881.
   

• See our Maps page for additional resources.
   

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK698332 (Lat/Lon: 52.89173, -0.963976), Colston Bassett which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

14 names are listed on the War Memorial plaque mounted on the wall of the nave in St. John the Divine Church.

There is a War Memorial cross in St. John the Devine's churchyard.

According to a report of his WW1 death in the NottinghamEvening Post, Arthur ANDERSON was the first man from Colston Bassett to enlist. At the time of his death, three of his brothers are also serving.

These are the names recorded on the wall of the church:

1. Arthur ANDERSON, pte. 1st Bn Sherwood Foresters
2. Albert William BIRKIN, lcpl. 2nd Bn Royal Fusiliers
3. John Alfred FAULKES, corp. 12th Bn Royal Fusilier
4. John William GREEN, pte. 10th Bn Sherwood Foresters
5. Albert LANE, pte. 2nd Bn Royal Fusiliers
6. Charles NEWTON, pte. 2/6th Bn Sherwood Foresters
7. Ernest PARNHAM, pte. 11th Bn Sherwood Foresters
8. Thomas Charles PARNHAM, pte. 10th Bn Sherwood Foresters
9. Alfred RICHARDS, pte. 2/5th Bn East Lancashire Regt.
10. Robert Henry ROGERSON, lsrgt. 22nd Bn Royal Fusiliers
11. Amos SHAW, pte. 17th Bn Sherwood Foresters
12. Benjamin SHEPHERD. pte. 2/5th Bn Lincolnshire Regt.
13. John Alfred WAGSTAFF, srgt. 1/1st Bn Dorset Yeomanry
14. George Edwin Maylor WESTMAN, gnr. Royal Field Artillery

• The name often appears with only a single T in "Basset".
   

• This place was an ancient parish in the county of Nottingham and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• The parish was in the southern division of the ancient Bingham Wapentake (Hundred) in the southern division of the county.
   
• You may contact the local Colston Bassett Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to help with family history lookups.
   
• District governance is provided by the Rushcliffe Borough Council.
   

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Bingham petty session hearings held every other Thursday.
   
• After the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, this parish became part of the Bingham Poor Law Union.
   

Year	Inhabitants
1801	220
1831	310
1841	403
1851	337
1861	297
1881	310
1901	295
1911	302
2001	226

• A National School for both sexes was held here prior to 1869. The village school was erected in 1872 on School Lane by George DAVY. It was shared with Owthorpe parish (to the west).
   
• The Primary School at Colston Bassett on School Lane closed in 2006 due to declining enrollment, but was "reborn" in 2007 as the Colston Bassett Independent Preparatory School.
   

Colston Bassett has a local history group, but this web page's author was unable to get their home page to display.